Biography

Ole Norman Legaard, 91, Mount Moriah, Missouri, died Monday, March 1, 2010, at the Harrison County Community Hospital.

For the majority of his life, Ole, and wife Coy, ran a Grade A dairy and farming operation a few miles west of Mount Moriah.

He was born near Fortuna, North Dakota, on May 10, 1918, and was the seventh of ten children. He grew up on a wheat and barley farm located only a few miles from Canada and Montana that his Norwegian parents homesteaded in 1910.

In 1941, he joined the US Army as a member of Company E of the 164th Infantry of the Americal Division in the Pacific Theater. During his 3 years of service, he participated in the defense of Henderson Field in the Battle of Guadalcanal, the first campaign to engage the Japanese in battle which resulted in victory after some of the most intense and lethal fighting of War World II.

After completing his military service in 1944, he worked in the war-related shipyards in Vancouver, Wa. where he would meet his future bride and love of his life. On March 17, 1945, he married Coy C. Duncan of Mount Moriah. Ole and Coy lived in the Vancouver area before moving to Missouri in the summer of 1946.

In the early 1950’s, Ole served as a veterinarian assistant to Dr. Rinehart of Ridgeway, Mo. and at the urging of his mentor provided veterinary services for scores of area farmers for more than two decades. For a number of years, Ole served on the Board of Education of the Mount Moriah School District.

Ole was preceded in death by sons, Garry and Steven; his parents, Gunder and Margaret Legaard; and his 9 brothers and sisters.

Survivors: his wife, Coy, of the home; a son, David (Janice) of Smithville; two daughters-in-law, Susan of Bethany and Rochelle of Kansas City; three grandchildren, Danny (Brandi), Chris, and Andrea of Kansas City; two great-grandchildren Corey and Bailey of Kansas City; and the extended families of Kelly and French Harris of Forest City, Mo, and Tracy and Ron Allen of Oregon, Mo.

Visitation

Friday March 5, 2010, 10:00 - 11:00 am at Roberson Funeral Home, Bethany, MO
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Funeral Service

Friday March 5, 2010, 11:00 am at Roberson Funeral Home, Bethany, MO
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Burial

Friday March 5, 2010 at Lloyd Cemetery, Mt. Moriah, Missouri
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